We were very disappointed with the service and food. We went on 10/22/22 at 7.30 pm. We were seated and forgotten. Finally we were able to flag a waiter and she took the orders and then disappeared. We had to get her attention again and remind her. She forgot the side order for bread--had to flag a different waiter to get bread. Finally, after waiting for another 30 minutes --- she got the Pizza the underside of which was completely burnt and the pizza was bitter in taste. The rest of the dishes were mediocre at best and we had to constantly remind her or any passing waiter to bring. Very disappointed -- will never go back again. Ravi Arora read more

Glad to have some good Italian in the area. Enjoyed much more than the Marina location. Lighting: Love how they dim the lights through the evening. No one can see my RED eyes. Variety of sizes for wine and pasta. THANKS. I love options and small portions. Check out the wine, especially during their winemaker's menu. Spot on pairings. Food recs: bucatini, good stuff, should have ordered the large version and skipped the troccoli. Great antipasti, I am always weak for burrata and the salted cod was surprisingly tasty. Calamari was okay, the white beans and sauce helped it out. Order the corn custard dessert, I licked the canning jar clean. OMG. Fan, freaking tastic. Skip the cookies, dated traditional cookies, I don't like traditional, however, the black pepper short bread was AWESOME. Skip the mousse cake. Free parking: on Hudson. Check it. Needs refinement: Don't give me my check before I ask for it. THEN don't get me lip service when I want to add items to my meal. Did I say I was done? read more

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Oakland Restaurant Week opens many mouths and coffers. Including mine! The interior of A16 is well designed, with a modern yet earthy feel and the brightest area is the "chef's table" next to the pizza oven, which my friend was savvy enough to request and seats I highly recommend to people who enjoy watching others cook. The counter seats are kinda spinny, but otherwise comfy. A16's theme is a dedicated Italian, which makes it slightly difficult to interpret the menu. Since we got the prix fixe meal, we saved a lot of time that would typically go towards making food selections. The Antipasti starter was very salty and tart due to the pickled vegetables, which necessitated the eating of their complimentary bread. The entree I chose was Chitarrina & Meatballs, or a twist on traditional spaghetti and meatballs. The noodles were similar in texture to soba noodles and worked surprisingly well with the slightly bitter, tart sauce and meatballs. After tasting the first two courses my friends and I weren't too impressed and lowered our expectations for dessert. The original preset dessert was an Apple and Dried Fruit Strudel, but luckily for us, they ran out and only had the materials for one. So in addition to the one strudel, we each got a Brown Butter Cake with a delicious citrusy mascarpone cream and housemade cherry sauce. Most delicious accident ever. They execute fruit and pastry much better than savory and I hope it's not weird if my next visit consists of only a bottle of their Lurisia Italian soda and dessert. What really made A16 shine was their excellent service and staff. Our waitress was patient and explained the menu items to us, constantly kept our water glasses filled, and wrote down the name of my friend's fantastic dessert wine for him on a card, all without being overly attentive or detached. It's not easy keeping the diners of Rockridge happy, but they did it with poise and class. Also, I'm a fan of their bathrooms. There's a spa-like quality to the decoration and lighting that isn't common to a lot of food institutions and makes you think more highly of their housekeeping practices. They even provide lotion for those extra-dry winter hands! read more

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Hubby and I had an early dinner here recently. We started off with the fried olives which were delicious. Never thought to fry them and they did not disappoint. Next up was the beet salad. Nice and refreshing with golden beets. We each ordered pizza: mine was the Vesuvio and his the Margherita with prosciutto. The Vesuvio comes with a side of chili oil which was amazing. We were too full for dessert. Loved it! read more

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Very pleasant experience here. Came in with my girlfriend to have some drinks and we had Sean as our bartender. He is an all around GREAT bartender and human. We were not greeted right away as the other bartender who was alone was very busy but when Sean came on his shift he popped right over to us. We enjoyed the Newton Cab and the House White wine. The fried olives were really great too! We will definitely be back! read more

The food and wine menu offers a nice selection of options. Our meal selections varied and everything was delish. We didn't get dessert because we were stuffed, but there were tempting items listed. It is nice spot for families or a quiet solo meal. read more

Fun food. Some dishes much too rich or fatty such as mushrooms pasta. Very loud. Fun place! Yum salad.

Prices continue to grow and the service and quality are plummeting... It is quite a disappointment now as compared to what this restaurant was with the previous owner. Default 20% gratuity for college student first job service... The owner should take responsibility and pay employees regular wedges his/herself instead of forcing this on customers... The size of pizzas and the selection of wine and dishes is also decreasing... on par with the quality of the food. As an Italian, this was a restaurant I constantly recommended. After my past 3-4 visits I stopped advocating for it. What a shame! read more

I walked in with my sister on a Tuesday night and we were seated at an open cocktail table by the bar right away, not too bad! If we waited for a proper table, we'd be waiting for hours. We ordered some oysters (church point is better than drakes bay, but both are dressed too simply for my tastes) and started with plates of roasted calamari (amazing!) and crispy pork testa terrina (surprisingly tasty!). Pastas were both excellent - the sea urchin bucatini and boar sugo - perfectly done. Dessert was above expectations. Try the "budino di riso" - vanilla rice pudding, pomegranate, persimmon, pistachio. It will knock your socks off. Service was nice and we'll definitely be coming again for gustatory delight :) read more

A16 - Vanilla rice pudding with pomegranate, persimmon, pistachio. - Italian Near Me - Oakland, California

Ever get sick of eating same old brand name pizza? Hit up A16 (not sure why it's called that). They elevate their pizzas to a level that makes you feel like you are enjoying some real fine dining. We had the margarita pizza, and guess what? You can add an egg to your pizza. This is totally worth it if you like eggs! Add a glass of fancy red wine and you can legitimately have yourself a date night. The neighborhood is great because there are so many shops and drink spots nearby as well. My only complaint would be that perhaps mgmt could do a little more training on the customer service skills for the staff. read more

Good food & great atmosphere. You'll need proof of vaccinations. We had the margarita pizza, scallops pizza, sausage pizza and the Bolognese pasta which was great read more

Should've had a snack prior to dinner. The trouble with going to a restaurant hungry is you end up ordering, well, a lot! It definitely was a good problem to have as we ordered from every category--antipasti, pizza, primi, secondi + contorni, wine and beverages. Like I said... Things were going swimmingly--the antipasti arrived in succession and we were fighting over the remaining meatball. It was that good! The slow-down began soon after. When the three of the four main dishes arrived, we were told the fourth dish was just a minute out. Twenty minutes later, the dish was finally delivered. Sadly, it was not hot. It was probably set aside by accident. We just had it boxed, since everyone else was at the end of their meals. Two other dishes were delayed, we couldn't seem to get our water replenished and the staff appeared strained. We could clearly see they were working very hard. Perhaps they were short-handed. It wouldn't be a surprise if they were. All in all it was a nice evening. Our meals were very good. We ate very well and didn't have to lift a finger, thanks to the hard-working staff at A16. We will be back soon! read more

Aw.... It used to be so good. Tonight, service was lackluster and food was so-so. A16 had been a mainstay for us for take-in throughout the pandemic. Tonight we visited in person and we found no magic. And the mandatory 20% tip -- which doesn't show up as a separate line item on the bill, as they ask you for 10, 15, 20% more -- just made me mad given the service, and it felt like trickery. But, to give credit where it's due, the corn pizza tonight was really good. But the pancetta on another pizza was way over salted and the margarita pizza was soggy. A little more care on the food and some hospitality training for the staff would probably make a huge difference. You can do it A16!! read more

Incredibly disappointed. I've eaten here before, but it's been a while. I ordered via DoorDash and that definitely contributed to the problem. The driver texted & let me know he'd gotten to the restaurant to pick up my order and they hadn't even started it. Well, I'm not sure what they HAD started but it wasn't my order. Here's what I had: 1. Burrata, olive oil, sea salt, crostini - crostini I'm certain had been made at least 1 day prior. That wouldn't be a problem except that the burrata had the consistency of chewing gum. Flavor was good, but chewy chewy chewy. 2. Cannellini beans, oregano, garlic, fried breadcrumbs - very tasty, very not warm. Room temp, in fact. They looked a little dry around the edges, so again, likely made the night before and boxed up. The flavor again was good. 3. Siciliana pizza - heartbreaking. The crust was rubbery and the pizza had very clearly NOT been heated within a few hours of its arrival at my house. Once again, good flavors but very poorly presented. Also, when ordering the pizza, you're prompted to choose things to add to the pizza, including extra cheese and extra sauce. I ordered extra sauce, and it came in a container instead of on the pizza. Um...... To be fair, the driver stopped at one point and added on an extra 8 minutes or so to (what should have been) the 10 min. drive to my house. There is no way, however, that the food would have gotten in such bad shape in an extra 8 minutes. Beans do not cool down THAT quickly. If I'd spent $15-20 on this meal I probably wouldn't bother with a review; however, a $56 tab (before DD charges and tips) makes me feel like I've completely and totally been ripped off. I won't go to this restaurant again, in person or ordering online. What a travesty! read more

This place used to be extraordinary. The absolute best pizza in the Bay coupled with wonderful warm personal service. Those were the good old days. The pizza; they gave up fighting for perfection. The service... exceptional... exceptionally poor. It's just so easy to say hello and thanks for joining us, but no one seemed to give a damn. The kicker, 20% mandatory gratuity and the audacity to add a line on the bill asking for more. We waited at least 15 minutes just to be greeted and seated for our reservation. Our server wanted to be anyplace but by our table. Things really didn't improve from there. We used to eat here at least once a week with countless recommendations to friends (and anyone who would listen). The king of wood fired pizza has died, time to move on. So sad and disappointed. read more

We came here for dinner and overall our experience was fine. The outdoor dining they have is nice although not as pleasant as some other restaurants I have been to. We got the funghi pizza, pork lasagna, cod dish that came with Brussels sprouts, and lastly, the panna cotta. The food was good but nothing spectacular and especially not for the price. This restaurant is $$$ and the food was not too impressive. Our service was fine, but again, nothing great. I think honestly in order to make it an upscale dining experience as the $$$ would imply, they should either make the dishes more impressive or make the prices more reasonable. Lastly, they charge a 20% service fee (possibly due to covid) and our waitress did not mention that. If the member of my party paying for the meal hadn't noticed it, our total bill would have been even more expensive. read more

Came here with a large group on a Tuesday night for a work dinner. Service was great, food was solid. Everyone was attentive and on top of everything. The snap peas were so delicious. The pizza dough was chewy with the right amount of char. We will be back. read more

Excellent service. Delicious pizza in the wood fire. The ribeye was perfectly blue. Excellent lager and ipa selection. Will definitely go back. read more

I had heard from someone that the food was not good there. My friend made a surprise reservation last Friday night because he's eaten at the one in SF. and I must say, I was skeptical. The sun was setting on the front of the restaurant and the warm light rushed into the interior lighting up the bar and the various artworks on the wall. We had a lovely server name Emma who was friendly, engaging and knowledgeable. We shared a funghi pizza ( a little bland) and ordered a the little gem salad which was excellent. We then shared a braised half chicken with fennel. Deliciously flavored. I'd come back again. read more

A16 - Italian Near Me - Oakland, California

Over priced. No value. No flavor. Good service. Nice atmosphere. Salad was overdressedand drowning. Meat and cheese plate was boring. Cod was bland. Mushy brussel sprouts! I only enjoyed the burrata - did chef make it? Service was good. Nice atmosphere. Go on a date there I guess, spend your money for poorly executed menu. +1 star for working out COVID cobwebs. However, I still wouldn't find value even at my imagination of this menu at peak performance. read more

So I had been to the site in SF and absolutely hated it. So I never made an effort to try this location but my friend picked it for her birthday. And wow. This place was incredibly delicious. We had five appetizers and three entrees and three desserts that we all shared. Everything was great. Salads, asparagus, calamari, pizzas, meatballs and pana cotta. We liked it all. read more

Sometimes one door closes and another opens. Sometimes Belotti Ristorante e Bottega tells you that it'll be a two hour wait when you decide to stroll in at 7 PM on a Thursday evening... and then you head back to your car, peek into A16, pop inside to ask about the wait and hear that they can seat you right away in the private dining room. Circumstances like that make this INTJ believe that spontaneity might not be that bad after all! A number of other people have mentioned bad service, but our server, Lindsay, was great. Even though we were tucked away at the back, and were the only party seated back there, she made sure to check on us regularly to see how we were doing, if everything was alright, to refill water glasses, etc. Delighted at this turn of events, my two coworkers and I decided to go all out and order like we didn't just have drinks and appetizers at Kon-Tiki in downtown Oakland: angelo + franco burrata w/ olio nuovo & crostini - 18 margherita pizza - 20 bucatini - sea urchin, lemon, garlic, chili, almond - 22 brandt coulotte steak - hen of the wood mushroom, arugula, porcini vinaigrette - 34 ^ comes with your choice of a side (we got the roasted brussels sprouts w/ lardo & pecorino) roasted carrots w/ marsala, fried black pepper - 8 chocolate budino tart - bitter chocolate mousse, sea salt, olive oil - 14 house made gelato (chocolate or vanilla) - 5 I'm a huge fan of cheese and really liked the burrata with new olive oil and crostini. The margherita pizza was thin crust and fresh from their wood-fired oven, but lacked enough mozzarella and basil. I'm a little torn on the bucatini. The sea urchin was found in the sauce, but it was a pretty flavor-less dish overall. The steak with arugula, mushrooms and vinaigrette was the highlight of the night and I would definitely order it again. The roasted carrots and brussels sprouts here are great sides and helped add variety to our spread. I couldn't pass up on "house made" gelato and a chocolate tart, but the consistency of the chocolate gelato and the tart left something to be desired. I should have listened to a coworker and taken her up on the offer to drive into SF for Salt & Straw... next time. The best part of the private dining room wasn't the privacy, but the proximity to the kitchen and the whiff of fresh trout we'd get each time it was ordered, haha. It didn't end up on our table that evening, but maybe next time! read more

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This is one of those places where you pay for the atmosphere and the right to say "Hey, I have dined and A16." Parking is a little hectic. It is located on a pretty busy street in the Rockridge Area. I was able to park in a parking lot a few feet away from the restaurant. The waiter was pretty nice. He offered to explain what everything was. We had a few appetizers (the meat and cheese plate was amazing) and other beverages. I was expecting more from my meal, but it turned out to be extremely small and really salty. The gelato is what pushed it to three stars for me. Creamy, just the right amount and totally refreshing. If I come back, it'll be only for the meat and cheese plate and gelato. read more

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Great drinks, food and service. Sitting on the sidewalk, we had a separate table for the 7 of us. Perfect evening!

What happened to A16? Was great during covid and before, was my place in Rockridge -- until tonight. What happened? they seemed to have an entirely new employee group, that are not good. First I called at 5 to see about availability - the person said that all three of the standup 2 person tables outside were taken all night. I have loved those spaces for 1 person during covid. I arrive at 6:45 and they were empty and were empty the entire time I was there... They removed the standup tables near the bar, which I had liked and replaced them with two person tables. I was sat down and waited at least 20 minutes with no notice at all by the waitress - Olivia - who continued to wait on everyone else, including a couple who came in about 15 minutes after me who she immediately attended to. So, I eventually had to ask the hostess who sat me "are there waitstaff here, or do I order from the bar?", at which point finally this waitress Olivia, came over. During dinner not one plate was taken from my table, so dirty plates and glasses built up on the table. Again, waitstaff all over the place and none of them had the wherewithal to ask if they could take the dirty dishes. The pizza was horrible, wet, floppy crust, one of worst ever. I must say the asparagus salad was excellent. But most of the good food I remember and good drinks were no longer there. I went to pay and they had removed the non-contact Toast bar code on the receipt method of pay. And none of the people even remember that they had that just a few months ago. (showing all new and poor selection of employees), and then no way not to pay a whopping 20% automatic tip even though the service was just horrible. So - no more A16 after going there since it opened. I walked by Enoteca Molinara on way to car and trying that next time, and hopefully that now becomes my go to Rockridge restaurant since A16 has gone so down hill. read more

Meh. We have been here years ago and left totally satisfied. Tonight, however, it was not the same experience. First off, a $35 corkage seems insane to me. The small plates we ordered were very good. Smoke burrata, fried olives, steak tartare were all verrrrry good. But then- we ordered our pastas. Boo. We ordered three of their four offerings. The ammatriciana was pretty good. Seemed like something I could make at home, but it was fine. The duck gnocchi was mixed. The gnocchi was tasty and seemed homemade. The duck was dry and not flavorful at all. Did not seem confit in any way. Then the crab orrechiate. Yikes. So dry. So flavorless. It was like a bowl of dry crab meat. Gross. We will not hurry back to pay so much for so little. Service was not amazing. They noticed we didn't eat the crab dish and took it off the bill, but ... still. Not enough. read more

tl;DR - avoid the bearded server. he's terrible. ok, avoid the cestini too. --------------------- We've enjoyed A16 over the years, and while the food has had it's ups and downs the service has always been very good . . . until this past Monday (New Year's day). We ordered the spaghetti with mussels (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/a16-rockridge-oakland?select=uW91mrtn-EQ0ORFCfobXUg), cestini with pumpkin & leeks (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/a16-rockridge-oakland?select=ZYzDnBMt73zR01UWrj5SQA&userid=DsHsuhUvyyW_75zFcJxkKw), and brussels sprouts (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/a16-rockridge-oakland?select=ROsAAuZd7CoyW7plQBbEJA). The spaghetti dish was very good as were the sprouts with a nice char (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/a16-rockridge-oakland?select=9q0dco-IPM-BmeBoGHL2hA&userid=DsHsuhUvyyW_75zFcJxkKw), but the cestini was severely undercooked. I prefer my pasta al dente, but this was hard in the center . . . every piece we tried, so obviously the kitchen hadn't tested it. Our waiter basically disappeared, never checking in to see how things were and it was an exercise in futility flagging him down . . . we were not tucked away in a corner so it felt like he was purposely avoiding eye contact. We finally got his attention, mentioned the issue, and sent the dish back to be re-cooked. We needed water and our drinks were running low while we ate the other food and waiting for the re-fired dish. Again, couldn't get our server's attention. We got a water re-fill from the food runner who brought out the new dish (and then ran off while we tried to mention we needed more drinks) and then found that this pasta, too, was under-cooked with hard centers. 3 of 4 . . . that's an improvement, I guess. Again, the waiter never checked in . . . don't want to see how the re-fired pasta was? Empty glasses? eh. He finally came back and I asked to have the virtually untouched dish packed thinking that re-heating would finally fully cook the dish. He then asked if there was an issue, and we told him and he said he would comp the dish, but we couldn't take the rest of it to-go. OK, fine. Contribute to food waste, if that's what you need to do. He seemed glad to see us out of there as there was no offer to show the dessert menu or coffee. Not sure if our waiter got called in because someone was sick, but he obviously did not really care to be there. Keeping it at 2 stars for our past enjoyable visits and the other dishes, but our service . . . need to take a long break before returning . . . or avoid him as our server. read more

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$22 martini. Mediocre food. Kind of sleazy waiter that kept upselling. Boring menu. Pretentious, unsympathetic vibes. Enjoyed this place a few years back, unfortunate to see what happened. Maybe just one of those nights. read more

The pizza here is bananas. Taste like Italy. They're pricey but worth it in my opinion. Always a great time.

Excellent food - 1 pizza was enough for two of us and it wasn't really any more expensive than your basic take-out - just a whole lot better quality and atmosphere! In top of that, we had to be at a nearby appointment in a little under an hour when we walked in, and they totally made it happen. Great food, great service, great place. read more

Poor service, terrible food and way too noisy. The trout was over cooked and dry, the green vegetable with it was stringy/chewy and swimming in oil, the sugar snap pea side dish was awash in oil, the gnocchi was gluey. The little gem lettuce was not fresh and crisp. The noise level made comversation difficult. The only good dish was the meatball starter. read more

The rating is an average of 4 for food and 2 for value and portion size. Beet salad, calamari pizza and gnocchi were all tasty, if not world-changing, but portions were de minimis. Really, how much does a gnocchi cost? There were about a half dozen on a $20 plate. read more

While the food was good, and some entrees were actually quite good, the service was terrible. One of our guests' entrees arrived nearly 20 minutes after the other three. When her food (finally) arrived, it was cold to the touch. The server blamed this on the kitchen -- as if the kitchen puts out cold entrees. (Entrees get cold when servers leave them sitting instead of taking them to guests waiting for the rest of their food.) Another item also arrived 20 minutes late, and arrived after we had canceled it because we'd been waiting so long. No accommodation to the bill was offered, and to top it off, the restaurant charged a mandatory 20% tip for this "Service." I can't imagine this is the type of experience A16 intends to provide its guests, although from other reviews I see here, we don't seem to be unique. The server said it was only her third night back after a two-year hiatus, and as noted, blamed the kitchen. That should not be acceptable. There are other good Italian places nearby, where the proprietors seem to care a lot more about the experience of their guests than the post-COVID A16 apparently does. Those places deserve our business. A16 no longer does. read more

The food is nothing short of amazing! Great atmosphere, staff, and restaurant layout. All of the pizzas are superb, the risotto is creamy and delicious, and the corn w/ pork is addicting! The only food item I didn't care for is the Ribeye because it is "drenched" in tomatoes, and that's the only flavor you can taste. Other than that, a fantastic restaurant! read more

Service was super slow!!! I could have finished 2 meals somewhere else. The food also did not taste as good as much they made us wait. Would not recommend anyone to go here. Please try some other place there are so many in the area. read more

Food and service is always great. Been at least a dozen times and have never left disappointed.

Good food, good wine, nice time. Consistent. Pizza and apps both equally tasty. Deep fried olives are bomb. read more

The pizza is good, but I would not recommend anything else. All the appetizers and entrees came out literally sitting in a soup of oil. Everyone in my group had stomach cramps after our dinner. Since it wasn't just one person i know its the way food is prepared. I lived in Italy for a year so i can say for sure there is nothing authentic Italian about this place. read more

I am sad to write this review, because I know Covid has not been kind to restaurants and restaurant workers but my husband and I had dinner at A16 for our anniversary and it was nothing short of a mess. 1. when seated at our table we ordered a glass of wine and a beer, then we ordered a pizza and our mains and sides. The pizza came but no drinks. We had to chase down another server who left to get the drinks but never returned. 2. As we are eating our pizza I ask the server if we can have a side of the calabrian chilis. They never come. 3. As we are eating our pizza, sans drinks, our server brings us our mains. Again, sans drinks. We remind her that we have drinks coming and then she hustles off to get them. 4. We dig into our meals, pizza plate still in front of us and our food is... dead. The pork chop was cooked probably two minutes longer than it needed to be and the fish required a knife. It was DRY. Also, everything on both the plates looked like it had been under the heat lamp too long. 5. Our drinks finally come and we remind the server that we had sides. 6. We are 2/3 of the way through the meal when our sides come. They are, conversely, undercooked. 7. We ask to take the sides home (intending to cook them more thoroughly when we get home.) the server takes them away. We have to remind her that we had food in to-go boxes. 8. Dessert comes and it's about the only thing that wasn't mediocre. A 20% tip is included, which I think is fair. What is not fair is how bad the service and food were for a bill that was over $200. read more

Made a reservation here for Saturday brunch right when they opened at 11 but definitely did not need to. It remained pretty empty the entire time my friends and I were there, and for a while we were the only patrons. We ordered meatballs and 3 pizzas to share for 4 people and were all pretty stuffed afterwards. The meatballs were pretty tender; I enjoyed those. The pizzas we got were the montanara, the salsiccia, and the margherita with prosciutto and egg added on. To be honest I wasn't as big of a fan of their pizzas. Parts of the crust were overly burnt and I didn't like that we had to cut the pieces on our own, not with a regular pizza cutter but with a pair of scissors. This lead to quite some mess, especially with the half cooked half runny egg yolk on the margherita. Perhaps the food is better for dinner since there is more than just pizzas available, but I wasn't terribly impressed by what we tried. There was plenty of parking around in the residential areas nearby. read more

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